Our Leagues

Have you seen your family today? They’ve missed you. Spend the next couple days convincing them you’re in good health and that it’s fantasy baseball that has kept you away all this time, not a crazy, religious cult that demanded you move into a hut in the woods and live off wild mushrooms. We’re at the unofficial halfway point and it’s time to take a breather, reflect, regroup and get back to the grind on Friday. Maybe you can visit the Fantasy Golf section of the site and dabble in some PGA DFS for The Open. Say “hi” to Joe, he gets lonely over there from time to time. Speaking of lonely, it’s lonely at the top and that’s where Cram It remains for another week. This guy is a machine. He has now dispatched of fellow frequent commenter, MauledByPandas, who had been his closest league competition and is now fending off one of our five female readers, frequent commenter, MuneForNothing. By “fending off” I mean, keeping a healthy twelve point cushion as he steamrolls us. At this point, we’re all just his little helpers, keeping that LCI high so Crammy can stay at the top of the Master Standings…I feel so used. Kick back with that knitting project you left collecting dust in March and let’s check out the other RCL goings on in the week that was, Week 14.

Sometimes you ask and you shall receive and in that vein, I begin this month’s Razznasty update. Now I know the two questions you’re asking, what did you ask for and receive? And which vein? First, it’s the main vein, you know the one in the middle…. Secondly, I asked our very own Hippo in the bush Matt Truss to make a push in the standings over the course of June so I could name the next update “Can’t Truss It”. Done and done. I told Mr. Truss-ah Truss that I’d dress as Flavor Flav from this video while I wrote it. Truss, that I held up my end of the bargain, picture me decked out in white tuxedo with top hat and Batman glasses. Unfortunately I can’t share with all of you due to a shortage on the correct cartridges for my vintage Polaroid Sun 600. Sorry boys, and whatever number of girls are reading this year. I believe we were up to five, but we might have lost a few after the Jose Canseco interview. There’s nothing that upsets the ladies more than invasive question about Madonna’s early 90’s sperm brokering. Enough of the bollocks, onto the Razznasty update for June. Dynasty League Baseball at it’s finest.

Here we are, it’s the halfway point of the season, lucky week 13. There are 26 weeks in this fantasy season, so while the All Star Break marks the unofficial halfway point, this week is the true halfway mark. The halfway point this year looks a lot like the end of the season last year with familiar friend Cram It leading the RCL Master Standings, albeit, in a different league. A virtual tip of the cap goes out to Cram It, it’s no easy feat topping all these nut jobs and here he is doing it twice. At the official halfway point we also had our first team eclipse the 180 Games Started mark. With 182 Games Started, Calgary Cannons, take a bow. The Cannons can now go about stacking relief pitchers in search of saves (53), ratio help (4.11 ERA, 1.31 WHIP), and improving that K/9 (7.9). Their 89 wins might move up to around 100 or so, but with teams like the Yapping Chihuahuas out there with 62 wins and 86 GS left, it’s not very likely to hold up. As everyone is slowly recovering from their Independence Day long weekends, let’s take a look at what else happened in the week that was, week 13:

This marks my 100th post here at the Razzball baseball blog and I must say how thankful I am that I have a home at a blog where I can provide below average fantasy baseball analysis while referencing Jules Verne, Scientology, Jon Snuh and ayahuasca all in the same post. It’s been a wild couple a years and I outlasted many a writer I didn’t think I’d outlast. Remember when the Guru disappeared in a van? Remember Razzball TV on the Radio? And what ever happened to Kenyon!? That guy was hilarious. I remember when Grey first found me. I was trying to get my Harry Potter erotica/fan fiction off the ground and writing signs for homeless people to make a quick buck. “Why Lie I Need A Beer,” ever see that one? Yep, that’s a Dan Pants original. Grey said he could use my talents to express undying love for shortstops named Xander and tell people they shouldn’t own two catchers. The rest is history, folks. Special thanks to Grey, Rudy, and Jay. Not Tehol though–[expletive deleted] that guy. But enough about me, you’re here for the sub-par fantasy advice. The New York Mets (lol, Joakim Noah!) called up rookie Brandon Nimmo last Sunday and after going 0-for-4 in his debut, he’s hit safely in his past five games. He’s led off for NY the past two games and responded in a big way last night going 2-for-3 with a 3-run home run (a 440 foot shot). Curtis Granderson remains hobbled and with Michael Conforto “working things out” in the minors Brandon has been given an opportunity to shine at the top of the order. He slashed .328/.409/.508 with five homers and five steals in 63 games AAA this year. If you are looking for an outfielder in NL-Only and deeper mixed leagues you might consider finding Nimmo on your waiver wire.

Congratulations go out this week to the league members of Cougs R Us. We’re all Cougs R Us kids after all. I wouldn’t have guessed that it would be possible for three league members to all be inside the top 10 overall in the Master Standings, but by golly, they’ve done it! Team Frost leads the way with a 101.5. Next up is Team Bromelia, who despite being behind Fatuous Jeffreys in the league standings with 95.5 points (compared to Jeffreys 97), is ahead of them by 0.3 RCL points in the Master Standings. These strong scores along with a great LCI of 104 have placed these three Cougs kids into the top 10 overall. Impressive stuff.

Five leagues currently hold the top LCI of 104. They are, in no particular order, Cougs R Us, ECFBL, FCL, Night of the Living Zombinos and the ‘Perty Perts league. I’m impressed with the ‘Perts league index. Typically the ‘Perts league has been a total pushover, full of mostly dead teams with only a few teams fighting it out ‘til the end. It’s early yet and there’s a long season of Tehol’s stats yet to be compiled (or not compiled rather) but it will be fun to see if the ‘Perts can hold on. FCL and ECFBL are no strangers to the top LCI leaderboard. These leagues finished 1-2 last year with FCL (112) dethroning a long run of ECFBL (110) holding the title of “Most Competitive RCL”. Keep fighting the good fight everyone, keep those LCIs high. Let’s see what else what down in the RCLs in the week that was, week 12:

Eleven weeks are in the books and the Master Standings have had a major shake-up. Poe Dameron, fresh off of destroying the Starkiller, has zapped Cram It’s star and taken over first place overall. Poe has been in or right around the top 10 overall for the past 3 weeks, but made a big push this week. Poe gained 3.5 points in the league, The Force Awakens and the league as a whole increased its LCI from 100 to 101. Cram didn’t rest on his laurels while in the #1 overall spot this week either, Poe really earned the top spot. Cram also gained 3.5 points this week in the high LCI league, DFSers Anonymous. However, the overall numbers for Poe were enough to push them over Cram. Both teams are sitting at 80 Games Started, which makes comparisons easy. Despite having about 50 less IP than Cram, Poe has almost the same number of strikeouts. The K/9 is strong with this one. If Poe can pick up the middle reliever streaming a bit, those strikeout numbers could really soar. Saves and ERA are very close between the two top teams. Poe has the edge in Wins while Cram has the advantage in WHIP. Only 0.2 RCL Points separate these two and we’ll keep an eye on them come next week. Here’s what else went down in the RCLs in the week that was, week 11:

You can cram this week’s recap up your cram hole! There I said it. There’s no burying the lede this week. Last year’s champ is back on top of the RCL world. Apparently, it was no dumb luck and our little Crammy is actually pretty darn good at this game. Take note all of you out there asking catcher questions on the regular. If you want to stand naked behind a championship belt, all you have to do is follow his lead. This marks the second week out of ten that a member of DFSers Anonymous has topped the charts. Two weeks ago it was MauledByPandas’, Samuel Colt Debate Team. It’s cool watching to Razzball regulars going at it, trading blows week in and week out. This should be a fun race to keep an eye on all year. I’m hoping I can join the fun and make it a three team mixer, but I doubt it the way my team’s been going. Regardless, this is a good league to bookmark and keep an eye on. It’s an active bunch with two former overall champs duking it out. That’s just the beginning of what happened in the RCL universe this week. Let’s see what else went down in the week that was, week 10:

Trea Turner came and went, Luke Gregerson finally got the boot and James Shields became the first big piece to move as the White Sox fancy themselves a contender and made a proactive trade. That was just the beginning of the fun that was had in week 9 of the fantasy baseball season. We really only care about two of these headlines for RCL purposes, as no one whose team isn’t abandoned has been owning James Shields this year. Nothing changes with a move to a (much) more hitter friendly park. Turner illustrates the frustration with stashing rookies. We talked about this a little last week and then Turner got the call, started the first game he was up and only went 3 for 3. The nerve! He didn’t hit a homer or even steal a base. His punishment? He was benched for the next two games of his call-up and then sent back to Syracuse. Now, we wait some more, while continuing to burn a roster spot. The nice thing Turner has going for him is he plays at second base, which is a dearth of talent. On the flip side, waiting on a player like AJ Reed, that could be a problem. While your leaguemate is stashing Reed, you could be streaming Mike Napoli and/or Logan Morrison while they’re hot and be raking in more HRs than the Reed owner could hope to see in a best case scenario. While you were stashing Reed, the guy rostering Mike Napoli was using that roster spot to hold Will Harris this whole time…that burns. Especially since you own Luke Gregerson…double burn. It’ll be fun (not fun) to see how that whole mess shakes out with the Astros save shituations. I have to believe it’s only a matter of time before Ken Giles (who was waiver fodder a mere 3-4 weeks ago) is the man in the 9th inning. I expect a lot of Ken Giles/Will Harris trades in the coming weeks in the RCLs. Sticking with the Astros RCL news, Evan Gattis is now just two games shy of earning the coveted catcher eligibility. Some were speculating it could take Gattis a month to earn that tag, but thanks to Jason Castro’s illness, that pace got accelerated in a hurry. If you’re hurting for power, like the majority of my teams seem to be this year, I’d look to make a move for the Catch-162 ASAP. Here’s what else went down in the RCLS in the week that was week 9:

Throughout my time as a dynasty player, I’ve learned that there’s one thing that’s as inevitable in this format as death and taxes….. turnover. Sometimes it’s simply because a manager no longer likes the format or league. Sometimes it’s a lack of the time element that needs to be applied to properly compete. Other times it’s an incident that disenfranchises owners, and leads them to quit. Well over the last month I’m pretty sure all of these apply to outgoing managers within our Razzball in-house dynasty the Razznasty. There’s been drama, tears, a gang-related shooting, and an arm wrestling tournament in a truck stop. Actually I think I’m confused, all those things happened during my Memorial Day weekend with my in-laws. You know what they say, “sometimes you join the Hell’s Angels, and other times you marry into them”. Moving along, let’s discuss the standings, trades, and wavier claims for the month of May.

Two months have now passed and we’re through the 8th week of the fantasy season. The calendar turning to June also brings the anticipated promotions of several youngsters as the Super Two cutoff tends to be right around this time of year. Trea Turner is my favorite stash at the moment, but their are several others to ponder over and pin our fantasy hope and dreams to. Jonathan Villar is doing his best to fend off Orlando Arcia in Milwaukee. Maybe you’re in need of some power and happen to be short a corner man at the moment. You might take a look at stashing AJ Reed. There is plenty of pitching to be stashed as well Lucas Giolito and Jameson Taillon are the most likely two power arms to make an impact in the immediate future. I had high hopes for Julio Urias coming in and being an impact bullpen arm, which for RCL purposes I preferred more than him being a starter. Instead I got one start, a shellacking and a return trip to AAA. Fun times. These guys all carry risk and balancing that while weighing the impact of losing a roster spot for an unknown amount of time is tricky business in the RCLs. Those three bench spots in our leagues are very valuable commodities. They can be used for rostering extra RPs to tack on extra Ks and ratio help, or they can be used to platoon a SAGNOF base stealer such as, Rajai Davis with a power bat such as Trayce Thompson. Decisions, decisions, and the answers can be different for every team. I don’t have the answers, but I do have some numbers. Come on down and take a look at the week that was, week 8: